Thursday, October 27, 2016

It Should've Been on a Saturday: Faerie Tale Theatre (1982)

I will warn you now that I, because I don't have premium cable channels such as Showtime, have never seen Faerie Tale Theatre, which ran for six "seasons" between 1982-7. Hence, there won't be a rating for this next item, presented as more of a public service.

Actress Shelley Duvall ("The Shining", "Popeye", etc.) developed the series while on the set of "Popeye", as she was reading some classic fairy tales while on the set. Two of her "Popeye" co-stars, Paul Dooley and Robin Williams, would eventually appear on Faerie Tale Theatre. In fact, Williams, fresh from Mork & Mindy, starred in the pilot episode, "The Tale of the Frog Prince".

For now, here's one of the final episodes of the series, from March 1987, "Rip Van Winkle", starring Harry Dean Stanton in the title role, and co-starring Ed Begley, Jr. (St. Elsewhere):

Duvall would follow up with Tall Tales & Legends, which didn't quite have the staying power. I have no memory of either series airing in syndication, but they should have. We'll look at Tall Tales another time.